The present invention relates to a random size carton sealer for automatically folding and gluing the flaps on one to three sides of cartons with varying widths, lengths and thicknesses. The cartons are of the type for packaging sheet materials such as sheet metal, insulating panels and plywood. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an improved carton sealer, wherein the improvement is designed to permit the folding and gluing of flaps on a series of cartons, wherein each carton has a length and/or width different from other cartons in the series. The random size carton sealer does not have to be adjusted, either manually or automatically, when the lengths and/or widths of the cartons in the series change.
Carton sealers for sheet materials are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,461 discloses a carton packaging machine for sheet materials.
The machine disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,461 is composed of two principal legs arranged at an angle, the mechanism of one leg being operative to close the sides of a carton package and the mechanism of the other leg being operative to close the ends of the carton package. One drawback with the machine for packaging sheet materials disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,461 patent is its inability to seal all of the flaps on a series of cartons, wherein each carton has a length and/or width different from other cartons in the series, without adjusting the machine. The machine must be adjusted when the lengths and/or the widths of the cartons in the series change.